if there is a delay in the vote and also an uncertainty in whether it is going to be accepted. i think if we're getting a sense that, say, they're delaying the vote maybe solckç that folks cat more time to look at the bill, but there's really a sense that it's going to pass, i mean, really what we're looking at right now is this 1:00 p.m. meeting to get a sense where republicans support lies. and it's possible that you know you add that up with democratic support, and there's a sense of confidence coming from the white house that this is going to pass but we don't know right now because a lot of this has to do with obviously leader there's in congress selling this to their folks and we're waiting to see how that all shakes out. >> okay. keep on it for us, brianna. thank you. hard at work keeping an eye on things. quick reminder, the house democratic caucus meeting scheduled for 15 minutes from now and the conference scheduled for an hour from now.

suzanne malveaux continues with newsroom. happy new year. welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm suzanne malveaux. we have a lot going on. a deal on the table but not out of the woods yet. all eyes on capitol hill, as the republican controlled -- the house, rather, convening this hour for the fiscal cliff negotiations. now vice president joe biden, he is heading to the hill for talks with the house democrats. this is a critical moment for the country. talking about 12 hours after the deadline for the government action has passed. the senate okayed a deal wee hours of the morning, prevent middle class income taxes from going up but raise rates on income of more than $400,000 a year for individuals, more than $450,000 for couples. now, unemployment benefits for 2 million americans would be

extended for a year. what it does not address is the spending cuts. lawmakers plan to revisit the difficult issue. that is delayed two months from now. going to bring you all angles of the story here. of course following this, every single move. dana bash on capitol hill, jessica yellin at the white house, christine romans live from new york and alison kosik in new york, hearing from folks in a diner. dana, you were up really late into the night, early into the morning here, there is more business to be done and we know at this hour involves the vice president. he's going to be meeting with democrats, house democrats. what do we expect will come interest that meeting? when do we think we'll get something from the house side? >> reporter: well, first of all, right, in 15 minutes the vice president is going to be here on capitol hill to meet with his fellow democrats, in or to sell the deal that he cut. he's going to try to convince particularly the more liberal members of the caucus, that they should vote for this. and that is a concern because

talking to senior democratic lawmaker who knows kind of the atmospheric inside, they could lose 30 members of the liberal caucus. that's an important meeting. even more important meeting going to happen 45 minutes later, an hour from now, house republicans will get together. they're going to figure out how to go forward and if even going to tack a vote in the house today. we'll be watching that. i also want to tell you that, you know, oftentimes here we walk around the hallways and bump into people and get interesting information. i went downstairs in the basement going to get coffee and i bumped into congressman norm dicks kind enough to join us. i wanted him to share -- first of all, thank you for coming on. >> nice to be with you. >> reporter: i wanted you to share with viewers, i thought it was fascinate, you came from the house gym. that's where a lot of business gets done. republicans, democrats. what did you hear from your colleagues working out this morning whether you think this is going to fly?

>> there were some democrats and some republicans who were for it. there were a company democrats that were against it, one from the more liberal caucus, one who had maybe other reasons. but it's going to be a split decision. i think the biggest thing here is what the republican conference decides, if they're going to bring this up. i think there will be enough votes between the democrats and the republicans, as we've done on appropriation bills all year long, to pass this thing. i'm always an optimist. >> reporter: you are a democrat, retiring democrat, which i'll get to in one second. you know your kuk cuss well. how many do you think you'll lose? 70 member of the progressive caucus, many not happen r. with the deal because of the tax cuts go and own reasons. >> if i had to guess, around 150 democrats would vote for it. we have absentees, too, another thing that on both sides, i'm sure are going to be counting

who is here, who isn't. that can make a difference. and i would assume that we have enough republicans to pass this thing. you know, this would be a real blow to the country, to the economy, if we fail here and with the major overwhelming vote in the senate, 88-8 is amazing. and vice president biden is going to address the caucus at 12:15. and so i hope -- i hope -- i hope he and the president will work the phones and get these people to support it. >> reporter: you're retiring. >> right. >> reporter: after 36 years. >> right. >> reporter: in the house of representatives. >> that's right. >> reporter: a long time. so this is probably the last vote that you take as a congressman? >> it will be one of last votes. we have to have vote on adjournment. we also have the supplemental coming up. >> reporter: that's true. >> very important, new jersey and new york. and i'm the ranking democrat on appropriations. so i'm going to get one last

chance to be on the floor battling. we're supporting this bill. >> reporter: talk about you have seen things change here. and change when it comes to both parties, the atmospherics, dynamics. >> well, it's -- when i first got here, we had 295 democrats. it wasn't even conceived the republicans would be in the majority. and so people worked together. it was a completely different atmosphere. when i was a staffer in the senate we had 67 democrats. and ool on every bill -- >> reporter: nixon was president. >> he signed environmental legislation, clean air ability, clean water ability, the national environmental policy ability, epa was created. nixon signed it into law. it was a completely different atmosphere when i first got here in 1976. we had 295 democrats. i mean, you know, it was 2-1 over the republicans. so -- >> reporter: whatm>fy is your

diagnosis of why things have changed. >> since newt gingrich became speaker, this place has been very competitive and both sides want to be in control. and because of that, there is -- and the country's split. the country, a lot of people out there who are fiscally conservative, others like myself believe in the short term we've got to do more, do infrastructure, things to get this economy moving ahead and that will reduce the deficit. that will lower unemployment and do positive things for the country. >> reporter: genuine -- >> the problem with the republicans they believe their rhetoric. i guess -- i guess some of us democrats believe our rhetoric. i'm a paul krugman devotee. austerity hasn't worked. we need more h1gstimulus. >> reporter: serendipity that i bumped into you. we don't get to hear what really goes on in the house gym. this is good scoop. >> absolutely.

i was wondering if that's part of their new year's resolution, if they do that on a regular basis. >> reporter: they do it on a regular basis. >> every day. a whole group. a huge group down there. >> good. we hope that they resolve to never let this happen again, too, to really conduct business in a different kind of way. people are so frustrated with the way things are going. explain what's go on on the house floor there. i know they have convened. a lot of people speak passionately, i assume about the fiscal cliff before the republican convene in a smaller group. >> reporter: the house convened at 12:00 and what happens when the house convenes, every day they have what's called one-minute speeches. this is one of the opportunities for members of congress to come and say their peace and say what's on their mind and they have one minute. i'm sure what is on all members' mind at this point how they feel

about the fiscal cliff deal. >> looking at live pictures of that taking place there. we'll bring you back to get behind the scenes from the gym but also from the floor and whether or not there's anything that's going to come of these meetings, whether or not there's a vote on the house side. there were eight senators who voted against that compromise measure, the opposition coming from both parties yet senate democrats tom harkin, tom carper and michael bennet voting no. so did mike lee, richard shelby, rand paul, chuck %a#zgrassley, o rubio, a tiny minority. the senate passed the fiscal cliff deal with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. it was 89-8. want to bring in jessica yellin at the white house. you, too, were up late early in the morning here. the president, how does he feel things are going? we went over the cliff but clearly there's still more work to be done. >> reporter: well, look, they're not coming out and talking so

they're being careful and letting the process unfold as it needs to. but there's a sense here that this deal will get done. and that they have wrapped up this -- this part of the process will be wrapped up today, suzanne. and you know, i'd say that there's also a sense here that the president did get a win. that's the view from this end of pennsylvania avenue. there are many different views on the other end. the sense here is that, for example, this is as they're saying in their talking points the first bipartisan agreement to raise taxes on the wealthy in 20 years. now, that is, in fact, an accomplishment for a democratic president they got a concession from the republican party to let taxes increase on the wealthy. you know we should acknowledge that in this measure that is a significant change from past policy, and they feel that that is something that is worth chest

thumping. now it is something many democrats in their own party are disappointed with because it didn't hit at 250, it hit at 450 for households. and because they wanted to see more in this deal. and republicans are critical because there's not enough deficit reduction so are moderate democrats. the white house argument to that is, there's time to have that deficit fight. we're having that fight in about two months. >> çjf%çand, jess, want to knowt the president's role here. yesterday, interesting how things played out. i mean from hour to hour, minute to minute. we saw the president come out very publicly, encouraging the republicans, saying we don't have a deal yet but we're pretty close here, you know, on the senate side. a lot of republicans were upset after he came out. they didn't like his tone, they thought it was to braggadocios and it look like for a moment a backlash against the president when we saw senator mccain coming out and speaking against

him. do we anticipate the president's going to lay low while the house sorts out all of this, perhaps a lesson learned from yesterday? >> reporter: well, i would say, yes, i don't -- i do not expect to see the president before the house votes. but i don't think that's in response to yesterday. i think that was -- that's always how they operate and they wouldn't want to say or do anything to sort of distract atan atan attention from the process up there. yesterday's comments were intented to product democrats in the senate to get on board and they sort of whatever, you know, hands up here, big shrug of the shoulders the republicans were annoyed by the comments, the bill still passed. i would point out, i'm told the vice president is going to be leaving here momentarily. we have not seen hess motorcade depart yet but any moment now. you know, the president is, my understanding from multiple sources, personally involved in this deal behind the scenes, while the vice president and senator mcconnell were the ones

on the phone in the very end. it was the president, the sources say, who insisted that this agreement to put off those spending cuts be included in the deal and that they be paid for with the combination of tax increases and pay downs, which we've discussed in some detail. >> and do we know if the vice president, when he's going to be meeting with house democrats, do we know specifically who he's meeting with and what he's trying to do to corral them to come together? >> reporter: well, it's my understanding, i think dana's report, he's meeting with the condu caucus to take questions and let them vent or make inquiries. and you know, he was -- he's not only been on the ground floor of this negotiation, but remember, he helped build the whole negotiation that led up to the debt ceiling fight in 2011 and knows the intricate details of

all of this policy. he can answer questions not only about what's in the legislation, but what's not in the legislation, what's left to do in the new year, and -- it is the new year. i was up until 2:00 a.m. what's left to do in the next fight. and as i keep saying we rolled into the next fight over the debt ceiling. one of the messages, i think you'll hear him deliver is, hey, congressman so-and-so you're upset about that, we can have that fight right now when we begin the talks about the debt ceiling, for example. >> all right. good. interesting to see what comes of all of this. happy new year, jess. we are in this new year. we'll get back -- you'll have a chance to party later. all of this is said and done, all over with, a lot of work to be done. deal or no deal, american taxpayers are getting fed up, right, with what is happening in washington, all of the bickering. we'll hear what you think about

it and what is happening on capitol hill. >> i cannot begin to tell you how irresponsible i think this has been for both parties to play all the politics they've been playing and leaving the people out, leaving the people's concerns out and just letting this thing happen. both parties are responsible for this. both of them have been playing just little silly games. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice.

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try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. we are waiting and, of course, watching for what happens in washington here. house democrats meeting with the vice president at this hour, perhaps even within minutes. leaving the white house and

meeting with members of congress, the democrats, obviously, to push forward on negotiations to make sure that the house passes some version of a compromise to make sure that the country does not face severe tax hikes, as well as spending cuts. there is a deal on the senate side now, the house has to convene and figure out whether or not they approve of that version, whether they are going to amend it or if they've got their own version in hand and that, of course, is the work of the vice president as well, even if the fiscal cliff deal is passed, many of us going to end up paying more taxes than we did last year, that's because the payroll tax cut was allowed to expire. nobody's trying to revive that. i want to bring in our business correspondent christine romans to join us, talk about this. what is the difference here? this tax cut, it's been around since, what, 2009 or so, to boost the economy. tell us how the payroll tax is different than the others. >> the payroll taxes come out of

your paycheck automatically and used to fund social security. costs dids 120 billion for the treasury department to instead let you have a little smaller part of your paycheck goes to social security taxes and general funds used to cover the difference. you've had a little holiday. you've had a holiday for the past couple of years and that means you've been paying 4.2% toward payroll taxes. it's going back up to 6.2%. the more money you make, the more you're going to pay. let me show you exactly what it means. if you make $35,000 a year, you're going pay $700 more a year. if you make $50,000, you'll pay a thousand. everyone look for your bracket there, because what this means you're going to have a smaller paycheck. meant to be a temporary boost to the economy. and in the fiscal cliff, it is really temporary. they're not going to extend it. >> how important it is, the markets are not open today but they're going to be open

tomorrow, that there is some real deal in hand from the senate side and the house side to indicate there is stability here? >> so look, you had a good year for stocks, s&p 500 up 13%. you had stocks up very strongly on the last trading day that they could trade, right? they are anticipating a deal. if you don't get a deal, markets are closed today if you don't get a deal it would be tough for tocks. if you do get a deal -- >> i want to interrupt you for a moment. i want viewers to know what we're watching here. this is live at the white house. the vice president getting into the motorcade there. you can see the secret service outside. the vehicle. and of course the motorcade traveling to the hill where he'll be meeting with the house democrats to talk about pushing forward on the house side. i think we're turning some tape here. you can actually see the vice president, he's -- he's in that vehicle. that's going to be key to moving things forward on the house side, at least.

but christine, you were explaining some of the ways that we are going to be impacted by this. of course the markets and how they behave when they see this kind of uncertainty, as we watch isn't it? that process is so ugly. if you were to have the house add amendments or not do something, you know what many in washington are saying the worst-case scenario the house doesn't move forward and avert the fiscal cliff, it would be tough for the markets. marks are telling us they think there's been a momentary judgment call, they've done the right thing and the markets think something's going to get done here. so a solution is priced into the market here. if you don't get a solution, it's going to be a problem. maybe not the first day but certainly a problem. i've talked to congressmen, you have, too, they have 2008 and t.a.r.p. fresh in their memory. remember when they didn't pass the bank bailout? >> sure. >> wall street said, that's not

going to work and the stock market went down 700 points. they have that fresh in their memory. they don't want -- they don't want to do anything like that. so they're being very careful here, i think. >> christine, tell us about some of the things that were, at least on the senate side, tax goodies, things saved, some of the things that we didn't lose because of the agreement on the senate side. >> it's interesting, when you look at, for example, write-off for teachers for supplies they get for the classroom, the parent and college tuition kind of tax breaks especially for lower income families, throws on there. i've been investigating the extenders for business and sweet goodies for business because they want to try to get companies to spend their money. the money's been sitting in the bank, companies saying we're not doing anything, we're not buying new software, we're going to wait to figure out if washington can get it together and we know what kind of situation we're going to have for tax for the beginning of the year. so we're digging into what all of the other things are.

there are the amt, for example, permanently patched. and for doctors, a lot of doctors, concerned about potential 27% cut to their medicare reimbursements. that's been fixed as well. >> all right. christine romans, thank you very much. we're waiting for the vice president. he's going to be arriving on capitol hill, meeting with house democrats to try to figure out a way to get them altogether all on board because, of course, you're going to have the republicans and the democrats have to work together on their own version to avert the going off the fiscal cliff, the senate side does have an agreement and it all depends on the house and how these two sides will come together and present something that the president can sign. we'll be -- we'll be following this throughout the hours.

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keeping a close eye on what's happening in washington today. the vice president just left the white house. we just saw him leaving in his motorcade, heading to capitol hill where he's meeting with house democrats to try to cobble together something on the house side to avoid the fiscal cliff. we are also seeing on the house floor there these are republicans, some democrats as well, but a lot of fiery rhetoric, a lot of really pointed opinions about where how to avoid the fiscal cliff, what needs to happen, regarding taxes, regarding spending cuts, all kinds of things. but clearly this is their moment, each one of them getting a minute to talk about what they believe we should be doing to avoid the fiscal cliff. i want to listen in. >> congress must regain its full power acored under the constitution, article i, second

8, to coin, create money, invest in our nation, interest free. to put america back to work. why go into debt? borrowing money from china, japan, south korea, when we have the constitutional authority to protect our economic sovereignty and to assure america's long-term fiscal health. increasing taxes and cutting spending will not work because the debt keeps ballooning with compounded interest. it's time for a new policy. reforms outlined in the hr 2990. let's regain control of america's destiny. >> senator mitch mcconnell observed, quote, this shouldn't be the model for how we do things around here, end quote and the senate proceeded like a bull in a china closet anyway. the senate boasts it is america's deliberative body. today that claim rings hollow.

mr. speaker, the house must postpone the vote until congress and the american people have time to study and evaluate this extraordinarily complex legislation and impact on taxes, economy, debt and other issues. it is bettor get it right than to act in haste. mr. speaker, if we vote on the senate fiscal cliff bill today i will vote against it because it's not the way to do the people's business. >> what is he talking about? the senate deal addressing the fiscal cliff, hanging in the l balance because it goes to the republican controlled house. what's in the senate's compromise. it would prevent middle class income taxes from going up but raise rates on income of more than $400,000 a year for individuals or more than $450,000 for couples. unemployment benefits for 2 million americans would be extended for a year. it does not address spending cuts. that of course, lawmakers planning to revisit that issue. that's going to happen a couple of months from now.

there's a two-month delay when it comes to dramatic spending cuts put out as part of the fiscal cliff. the stock market is closed for today of course it's a holiday. we don't know how wall street will react. but we have a feeling and a sense of how you are responding. alison kosik at a diner in new york. i imagine if you talk to folks they are really frustrated with this thinking, why would you wait until the very last minute? this is something that impacts all of us. what are they telling you? >> reporter: there are lots of opinions, yeah. we're in new york city where people don't hold back their opinions. what happen's great about the diner, we're getting opinions from across the country. liz here from maine all i have to do is say the words fiscal cliff, what comes to mind? >> it's not a cliff, it's a slope. >> reporter: meaning? >> it's not a huge deal. it's not going to be like this disastrous event. it's just not. it's not going to affect me06u

personally. i'm a graduate student. i get paid by state of indiana for my assistantship. it's not going to affect me. it's not going to affect a vast majority of americans. >> reporter: how do you think negotiations are going? there as far as i know, they're not happening. i don't know. >> reporter: how does that make you feel? you vote. you know, lawmakers knew that this deadline was coming. how does that make you feel? >> they shouldn't have been on vacation like that. the president came back from hawaii in order to get this done. they didn't put the coupall out early enough, what i understand. they didn't get them back here early enough to deal with this. >> reporter: it is a big challenge here to go ahead and pass all of the -- these parts of the legislation, right? >> i guess so. i mean, just let somesv of thex cuts expire and let others remain like it's not that hard. >> reporter: so lots of opinions.

suzanne? >> what would you say? i mean is there a consensus here? are most people feeling like it's no big deal? are people engaged? are they watching what is happening in washington? do they understand how it impacts them? >> reporter: you know, they don't understand the minute details. it's hard unless you're following every day. today's a holiday, i'm getting a good gauge on what a lot of people think about it. they have strong opinions about whether or not lawmakers have dragged their feet and whether or not they should have dragged them as long as they did. also getting great international perspectives. i ran into matt from australia. wuf you've been watching negotiations from afar. your take? >> i think a lot of it is emotionally charged hot air that a lot of people are getting upset over things that aren't really as big or as impactful as they are making it out to be. i come from australia, we have

higher taxes and more expensive goods and services. and even if the fiscal cliff did occur, australia would still have higher taxes and higher goods and services. but we are doing okay. you know, what they are talking about with the lawmakers and the discussions at the moment, they're trying to fight off something that, to be honest, is not going to be a big impact to the everyday working man or woman. >> reporter: that's the international -- one international perspective on what's going on. i'm sitting here in the tick tock diner. the clock continues ticking, done it? >> certainly does. good to see people out and about having a good time but clearly paying attention as well. we are also following another story. learning new details about secretary hillary clinton's blood clot as well as treatment.

.

we know secretary of state hillary clinton's blood clot is located between her brain and her skull and behind her right ear. doctors are treating her with blood thins are and expect her to make a full recovery. dr. sanjay gupta look house serious the blood clot is. >> specifically, where the blood clot is located, remember, before we knew that she had a blood clot she was getting blood thinning medication and we could surmise from that that the blood clot itself wasn't located on top of the brain because if it was pushing on the brain, blood-thinning medication would worsen that, make that pressure on the brain even worse. let me show you by way of mod.

this is on the right side of her head but i'll show you the left side of the head for the model. you have the brain. if the clot was pushing on the br brain you wouldn't give blood thinning medication. in this case the blood clot is located in one of the blood vessels inside the brain, a vessel that drains blood away from the brain. it's the sinus here. in her case it's actually in this area here, the transrers sinus, again on the right side of her brain. this is a rare condition. something that doesn't happen often. but it needs to be treated with blood-thinning medications to try to make that clot dissolve. here's the concern, you have blood going to the brain. that blood needs to leave the brain. if the blood's not leaving the brain, the pressure in the brain can start to build up and that's what you don't want to happen. most likely, you know, in the secretary's case, they need to get another scan at some point to actually show that the clot, the blood clot inside that blood vessel, has in fact gone away.

doctors very important to point out, they've said she's had no stroke, which is a potential complication. she's had no neurological impact whatsoever. i've heard from sources that if you were to see her you wouldn't know this problem's going on. a rare occurrence, cerebral venus thrombosis it's called, treated with blood thinners. as we get more information, we'll bring it to you. back to you. >> thank you. back to the fes. one thing is certain, for the vast majority of americans those is more than a political battle. this is a fight over your bottom line. >> my message to all of washington for the new year is set partisanship aside working on behalf of 100% of voters, fix the mess you've gotten us into, bring a balances budget to the table to grow the economy for the long term, not the short term. c'mon dad!

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taking a look there on the house floor as people are debating the best way avoid the fiscal cliff. this on the house side today, because we went through this on the senate side. they came up with a plan that both democrats and republicans overwhelmingly agreed on to avoid the fiscal cliff. but of course, we went over that fiscal cliff because you don't have something on the house side. and they need to figure out if they're going to amend what the

senate has decided on, whether they're going to scrap it altogether, come up with something new or sign on to it. a lot of debate taking place there. the vice president this hour is meeting with the democrats of the house to make sure that they're all on board as well. here's what we are hearing from some of the house republicans and democrats. let's listen in. >> i am a no vote. until we see details, i'll say most folks a presume member of congress have details, we haven't seen anything. we're reading media reports. nothing on any websites. . looks like a no. looks like the typical insider deal for washington, d.c. where they get 89 votes in the senate but at the end of the day our debt's going to get big, spending's going up, taxes will increase and americans will be upset at washington. >> there's still a question as to whether amendments are offered here, and of course, as you've also noted, the big question here that having

circumvented the dangers of the cliff here at new year's, that we soon face the valentine day cliff and perhaps the april fools' day cliff because all of the things not in the agreement. >> the president cannot and should not add about $11 billion to the deficit by the stroke of a men, by an executive order at a time in which he's negotiating to try to raise taxes to earn maybe another $60 billion, $70 billion, at most. >> also following other top stories. for the first time in 19 years, north korea's leader makes a televised new year's speech. the big themes in kim jong-un's address, overhauling the struggling economy, moving toward reunitesing with south korea. kim celebrated the launch of a long-range rocket. kim's father ruled until 2011 never made a televised speech. a royal/dutch shell oil drilling ship has run aground on

an uninhabited island near alaska act's kodiak island. a tugboat was towing the ship during astorm yesterday. the ship's been evacuated. the tugboat's crew had to cut lines and set ship adrift when the conditions got too dangerous. the response team says it has not detected a fuel leak from the rig and the national weather service is predicting better weather which could help crews get the rig back uncontrol. a u.s. ambassador and al qaeda wants him dead. dangerous situation that is unfolding in yemen. [ woman ] uh-oh.

[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast! [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. u.s. authorities are looking into threats against the u.s. ambassador to yemen. reports that a terrorist group with links to al qaeda has issued a reward for his death. brian todd's got the story. >> reporter: less than four months after the killing of u.s. ambassador chris stevens in benghazi, libya, word of a specific threat to another american envoy, in another arab country where al qaeda is dangerously strong. a bounty of $160,000 worth of gold has been placed on gearld feierstein, the u.s. ambassador to yemen. according to site intelligence

group which monitors jihadists on the internet the bounty announced in audio clips and screen graphs posted by militants. we can't verify the clips' authenticity but the u.s. and yemeni governments are taking them seriously. militants offered $23,000 for the killing of an american soldier in yemen. analysts say militants may be affiliated with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, the powerful bran inch yemen. >> they've been looking for a way to hit the u.s., whether the u.s. ambassador in yemen which they attacked in september of 2008 or carrying out more attacks here in the united states. >> reporter: this is the same group that came close to detonating a bomb in the underwear of a militant in the 2009 christmas day plot to the bomb an airliner bound for detroit. it attempted to send printer bombs to the u.s. the following year. and tried again this year to bomb a plane bound for the u.s. it's also not the first time al qaeda or an affiliate has offered gold for the killing of

a prominent american. >> the example, paul brem, the most important american military official in iraq during the bush administration and bin laden himself offered substantial goal reward for basically for his death. >> reporter: no one got to bremer. odds of an assassination this time, a yemeni official says security's stepped up around the u.s. embassy and areas where diplomats live. they say feierstein may not need to reinforce his personal detail too much. >> they have a mini green zone, all of the people who work in the embassy live within a secure corridor and travel from this secure housing location to the embassy and back and forth and they don't really get out, which makes them very, very difficult targets. >> reporter: but one deadly asset that al qaeda in yemen has may tip the balance.

that that's this man, the young master bombmaker for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he was behind that christmas day attack three years ago, and the printer bomb plot. he once placed a bomb inside the body of his own brother which came close to killing a top saudi official. he's still at large and able to train others on his techniques. brian todd, cnn, washington. next, violence sent them running from their home countries. take you to a school welcoming young refugees with open arms, teaching them there is more in the world than violence.ip that's double miles you can actually use. tragically, their buddy got sacked by blackouts. but it's our tradition! that's roughing the card holder. but with the capital one venture card you get double miles you can actually use. [ cheering ] any flight, anytime. the scoreboard doesn't lie. what's in your wallet? hut!

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members of congress on the house side, they have gathered on the floor to make views known about the fiscal cliff, how to avoid the fiscal cliff, potentially their own plan to do that, this after negotiations from the senate side actually produced a concrete plan. it is now up to the house and members of congress and the house side to either amend it, scrap it, or come up with their own plan. we'll see if that happens. but they've convened. listen in to congressman michele bachmann who just spoke. >> so now congress is going to get a spending increase, this was a cynical planned move, mr. speaker, on the part of our president. he brought great drama to this effort, unnecessary drama, because, you see, this house of

representatives already did the job to avert the fiscal cliff. we did this work. it was completed last august. >> police are on the hunt for armed robbers who stole more than $1.6 million of gadgets from an apple store in paris. the story trending now across france. authorities say the robbers made their move after the store shut down new year's eve carrying handguns as well as attacking a security guard to get in. police say thieves steal apple product but was this break-in comes as the biggest raid in a store there. we'll have more after a break. ♪ [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums

a common anything to toast the arrival of the new year world peace right? one school in atlanta taking a unique approach to actually trying to achieve it. welcoming international refugees. kids that come from all over the world, and families are too afraid to return to their home country. the school's mission to catch these kids while young, show them there is more to this world than violence and fear. >> reporter: this boy and his family moved to the united states after fleeing violence in tanzania. this boy and his family moved out of myanmar, hoping for a safer future.

this girl's parents left native iran in search of better education. the three are students at the international community school in decatur, georgia, and their lives are dramatically different. ics a k-5 charter school with 270 students from more than 30 countries. >> i like the school because it's a fun place to be. a fun place to learn. >> like a whole neighbored. together or a whole country together or a whole world. >> the school's great. you can get a lot of friends. >> reporter: charitable groups and local government in clarkston encouraged international refugees to settle here. bilanguage wall assistants work with every teacher. language classes and additional reading and math practice part of the daily school schedule. the goal to help refugee children without separating them from the rest of their american

classmates. >> this is not a school for refugee children any more than a school for kids. >> reporter: it relies heavily on donations and partnerships and with community organizations. programs and activities designed to promote intercultural understanding and expand their world view. ♪ >> reporter: each year the schools celebrates its own united nations day. a colorful bash that highlights the school's vision. >> to learn about different country, everyone's friends. >> reporter: the three are only in fifth grade but they've got big plans for the future. paria wants to be a judge. igy wants to be a protectional soccer lay. un wants to be an artist. all are working toward their dream at the international community school. school says about half of the kindergarten through fifth graders are from other countries, most survivors of war. all of them study a second and

even a third language. good for them. have you come up with your fitness goals for the year? wait until you hear about one couple, in their 60s, what they are planning to do this year. they are running a marathon a day. running a marathon a day. melanie davis of network 10's got their story. >> reporter: the countdown to begin clocking up the kilometers. >> four, three, two, one. >> reporter: at 6:30 this morning grandparents ellen and yen net embarked on a goal of a lifetime, complete a marathon of every day of 2013. >> trying to inspire other people to make conscious lifestyle choices, thinking about every choice you make in life. >> reporter: the couple is promoting healthy, sustainable living as they set off to cover more than 15,000 kilometers around the country and raise money for various charities but they haven't always been in fine form. >> 20 years ago, i wouldn't be able to run one city block.

i couldn't run more than 100 meters. since then i've lost 50 pounds and just feel so much better. >> not only that, but i get a younger man without the divorce. >> reporter: ten years ago, jeanette diagnosed with breast cancer and given six months to live. she believes eating raw vegan food saved her life and the pair will rely on that diet to fuel the 365 marathons. in new zealand in 2000 they ran 50 marathons in 50 days. this year holds a far greater challenge for the duo. day one, 42 kilometers down, still thousands to go. >> wow. amazing. we'll see how they do. impressive. best of luck to both of them.

i'm suzanne malveaux. happy new year. many of you celebrating start of 2013, lawmakers in washington are struggle noug to reach a deal. 13 hours after the deadline for agreement on fiscal cliff, you've got house republicans, they are set to start their meeting about now. democrats in the house, they have been meeting with the vice president to talk about this as well. he was, of course, instrumental in getting the senate deal passed. that happened in the wee hours of the morning. bottom line here is what did that agreement look like? it would prevent middle class income taxes from going up. but would raise rates on the income of more than 400,000 a year for individuals or more than 450,000 for couples. unemployment benefits for 2 million americans would be extended for a year. what it doesn't address is the spending cuts, controversial spending cuts. lawmakers plan to revisit that issue two months from now. all eyes today right now are on

the house for its vote. dana bash live from capitol hill. now, dana, first of all, i want dwru explain for us we know there are two things happening, the republicans who are meeting and we know the vice president is meeting with the democrats. when do we expect these two sides to get together and make a decision about whether or not they like what the senate has put forward or whether they want to come up with something else or amend it. >> reporter: before i answer that, i'm standing right near the house republican meeting which is fgoing to start in a fw minutes and i might have to duck away. we're waiting for the house speaker to come by. >> sure. >> reporter: but to answerer that question, what's going to happen, we are told, is that the house republicans, of course, run the house, and they make the decision on when votes are, they are having the meeting right now, but we're told that that is not going to be the definitive or decisive meeting to decide when the vote will be on the

fiscal cliff package and how they're going to vote on it, whether offer any amendments. that won't happen until another meeting later this afternoon after members have a chance to digest whatever they hear right now. so, that's the state of play in terms of how things could come to be when it comes to the process. with regard to what's going on in another part of the capital now, joe biden is meeting with democrats because a big part of the issue is whether or not, as you alluded to, both sides can gather together enough votes, leaders of both parties get together enough votes to pass this in the house. house democrat -- still operating under the 112th congress, the last congress. the new one won't be sworn in until later this week. republicans have a healthy majority, even if there is significant number of democrats who vote for this, you know, they're going to need many republicans to cross over. and so what they're doing now

with the democrats is that joe biden's trying to convince his own members not to break off because there are a lot of liberals who simply don't like this either and say they don't like the idea, for example, of keeping tax cuts in place for americans and households making up $450,000. they think that's simply too high. >> we'll be watching closely. obviously going to come back to you as the developments warrant. a lot is taking place behind the scenes. of course in front of the cameras as well as they play out their own version trying to come up with something to avert the fiscal cliff. the senate did make a decision, came up with a plan but of course the house has to come up with its own plan and somehow these two sides have to get together, cobble something together the president can sign. want to bring in our own wolf blitzer in washington. the first thing here, you've got speaker boehner and he's meeting with the republican caucus on the house side. how effective is he in really getting his team on board? i mean when he had that

modest -- more modest plan, plan b, he couldn't get his own party to sign off on that. is he a powerful leader in the republican party to get them on board for anything? >> i think he will show that strength assuming he has eric cantor on board, kevin mccarthy, some of the other young guns, as they lake to call themselves, in the house of representatives. the or young republican leaders. if he can get all of them together, he's not photog bring in all of the tea party activists in the republican caucus gu together with the democrats who will support him this time and the republicans that could cobble together the 218 votes they need, they have to do this, suzanne, today or tomorrow because at noon on thursday, the 113th congress is sworn in. that's a new congress, new senate, new house of representatives. they have to start from scratch. the legislation that passed in the middle of the night last

night, that's going to have to be passed once again in the senate if they don't get this done before thursday at noon. remember, tomorrow's a regular day on wall street. markets are opening tonight on the east coast of the united states, the asian markets will be opening. people will be watching closely to see if there's stability, if there's continuity, a disrupt tur, and the great fearing of course the house of representatives doesn't follow the senate's lead and passes legislation that the president will immediately sign into law. there could be a breakdown in all of that. taxes will go up on everyone, spending cuts imposed, sequestration, mandatory defense, domestic spending cuts will go into feick and that could be a major dislocation on the world markets. >> let's talk about that. you know the formal term s sequestration but it's about the massive cuts $110 billion of spending cuts. that is something that they kicked the can on for two months or so. so could we actually see

ourselves going through a similar process here when we have the negotiations over the debt ceiling? >> yes, we definitely will see a similar, if not more intense and bitter process in two months or so, at end of february or march when that debt ceiling has to be raised. the president has made it clear, he will not negotiate on that. i don't know exactly what he means. he's not poeing to let that come up as an issue. but in order for the debt ceiling to go up the senate and the house have to pass legislation raising the debt ceiling and it's clear the republicans, at least the house of representatives, many of them, want to use that debt ceiling as leverage on the president to get what they want, namely, much more significant spending cuts, especially entitlements, medicare, social security, making major reforms or changes down the road and domestic programs. they don't want to see cuts in defense spending. so there will be a huge battle at the end of february or march

when that debt ceiling comes up once again. >> thanks. we'll be watching closely. want to get the nuts and bolt of the plan as it stand stands now. christine, first of all, you know there's a lot to go through. but essentially there are some folks who are spared from the tax increases but there are -- there are tax goodies, credited, all kinds of things that happened. go through what it means for most of us, most americans on the senate side. >> so it means the status quo for 98% of americans, right? it means that your tax rates won't go up, for doctors, they won't have a real big cut to how much they're getting for reimbursement from medicare, right. >> it means for the jobless, they're still going to be able to get a jobless check if you're on extended unemployment benefits. for 2 million people that ran out december 29th. if the senate and now of course

the house, if they don't do an extension of federal unemployment benefits you're going to see a lot of people not have 100,000s for the jobless checks. another 1 million people facing end of state benefits in the beginning part of the year wouldn't be able to get federal benefits. 98% of people will get the status quo, the continuation of the billing as it is right now, and for working americans, continuation, of course, of their pay rates. one thing that's -- their tax rates. one thing important to note, tax rates aren't going up you could see a smaller paycheck. the payroll tax holiday, that wasn't going to survive the fiscal cliff we all knew it but you're going to have a smaller paycheck, $10,$15, $20 less, so

planner to that. >> this is folks making between $250,000, $400,000 that the taxes are not going to change but could be paying higher taxes because of other things that happened and that has to to with itemizing deductions when you file for tax returns. >> absolutely right. so remember the president initially said that he wanted to raise taxes on the rich? people who make $250,000 a year or higher. in the end he raised -- they're trying to raise taxes on people who make $400,000 and higher. but they're going to limit itemized deductions, personal exemptions for individuals earning more than 250 and households more than 300. tax rates could stay the same for the people but if you limit deducts they could have a higher tax bill and that will get riv knew, too. >> when you look at the senate plan, are there winners and losers overall, big picture? >> winners or losers i look through and see compromise. i see compromise in the estate tax.

i see compromise there. i see a win for the president but also see a big win for republicans because the amount of exempt estate -- of the size of estate exempt is pretty big. look, i look out at this and see peril because you look at the house, you have to get through the house part of the process, don't you. >> and that's something that's still an unknown here. we're beginning that process right now. i look at the markets, how the markets could react, and you know, i mean the markets are expecting a resolution, investors are expecting a resolution if you get some sort of setback in the house the loser's your 401(k), market stability. i think people, members of congress, some of them i have talked to, fresh in the memory 2008 when they didn't pass the bank bailout and markets went haywi haywire. they have the markets closed today. a house looking at this now. they're trying to avoid that. >> and a new congress coming in on thursday. we'll be watching all of this. as christine points out here,

some people look at the 11th hour compromise in the senate as a win for the president. but what's going to happen if the house actually sends the deal back? live to the white house next. i'm having one right now. i don't want to be disturbed. and i won't. because before i went to sleep, i set this. now my iphone knows not to ring, unless its important. 'cause disturbing this would just be .. wrong. starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand.

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with odor free aspercreme. powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. it took until the wee hours of the monthing but the senate passed the fiscal cliff deal by 89-8. now it's up to the house to seal the deal. want to bring in jessica yellin at the white house. the vice president meeting with the house democrats, very instrumental when he was working with the minority leader, mitch mcconnell. what's his relationship with the democrats on the house side? >> reporter: well, he's sort of

uncle joe, if you'll -- if you will. he's the guy who sort of shoots from the hip, says it like it is, that's his reputation. and who can take incoming fire. if there's sort of decorum around the president where people are uncomfortable by speaking to honestly in front of him and the president has to be more careful about what he says, it's a different dynamic when joe goes up to the hill. so you could expect this to be a quite frank exchange where people who are angry will let him know it and there are progressives who think, as always, that the white house just gave away way too much in this deal, they gave up their leverage to negotiate the debt ceiling, should have included a debt ceiling component to this, they shouldn't have let the tax rate be set so high, et cetera. i'm sure he'll hear all about that. moderate also have other issues and he'll make the case from the white house why they took this deal and why it sets the white house, in their view, up, democrats up, for an effective

hand as they continue their fight. the one thing about the vice president is, sometimes when he goes to these meetings he says things that are colorful and they leak out. it's been surprising that this has been very low profile. we have not heard any leaks during this whole negotiation. >> there is a rare discipline coming from the white house now. do we have a sense of what the president's role has been in the vice president and president obama are in constant discussions or is he giving him more wiggle room here? >> reporter: the president has been very -- my sources say the president's been very clear about what he will and will not accept in this in deal. but he is not the one on the phone with senator mcconnell because the vice president and mcconnell have this historic relationship. mcconnell likes working with the vice president and biden called the mccolinle whisperer, whoever

that really means. it means he can get stuff done. the president, for example, i'm told in the late night oval office pow wow that went until 2:00 a.m. i believe it was sunday night if i can get my days straight, made it clear in a discussion with the vice president and staff that he just would not accept a deal if it did not include this postponement of the spending cuts. had to be a paydown on $24 billion of the deficit. we'll have two months to argue out the debt ceiling and the sequester. that was a bright line the president laid out to vice president biden and the staff, said that had to be in the deal, or no deal. >> might be too early, too soon, any read out, any sense of how the meeting's gone between the vice president and the house democrats or we're still working on that? >> reporter: i am not getting any -- any read-out yet because i think it's ongoing. but i will tell you that there

is -- even going into it -- a sense of optimism here. the staffers who were working well past 2:00 a.m. last night still have not booked their vacation -- well, they have not left on vacation but i think they're approaching the point where they might feel comfortable booking their vacation travel for a few days. you get the sense they think this is going to wrap up. >> strange how we get our information. we have to look at people's travel and vacation plans. but, yes, it could give us an inkling we're getting close to the in. >> reporter: still hard at work here. >> thanks. vice president, as jessica mentioned meeting with house democrats to discuss the fiscal cliff. we are going to hear from one member of congress who is part of the meetings, representative of the meetings, representative john yarmouth. so, umwhoever's fathered the most children, gets the most data. let's just do it by hair.

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critical moment for the financial future of the country, the deadline for the dreaded fiscal cliff. it passed at midnight. right now house republicans are not prepared to vote on the compromise approved by the senate. the vice president, he was instrumental in getting the senate deal passed. so he went back to capitol hill to meet with the house democrats. congressman john yarmuth of kentucky among those who met with the vice president. thank you for joining us. we understand that you actually left that meeting that the vice president was holding with your colleagues to talk with us a little bit about what is taking place. what is the push coming from the vice president today? what is he saying about the deal that was made on the senate side? >> well, suzanne, i think what he's been trying to do, and true

to his image, he has been going on for some time with the democratic caucus, but he has gone through the elements of the deal point by point, explaining what the options were, where the republicans might have had some give, and where the white house wanted to remain absolutely steadfast. i think my impression, as i left that meeting and he had gone through pretty much the entire deal, there's no way that we could have gotten any deal if a democratic perspective that it was -- that was more supportive of our values than the deal that has been negotiated. >> what were the points that he said the white house essentially had to have as part of that package, part of that deal, where they would not move? >> well, one of the ones, for instance, extension of unemployment benefits for one year. the republicans apparently wanted to extend them just until -- just for 60 days to correspond to the other things that had been delayed but not extended for longer. the white house held out very

strongly for year's worth of extension of unemployment benefits. similarly the issues such as earned income tax credit, the child tax credit and affordable opportunity ability tuition credits, was something that the republicans didn't want to extend. some of them at all. they basically said, we'll give you one of them, one of the three, and and they were very strong in saying, no we want all three and they extended them for five years. so there were a number of things, and of course there were issues with regard to the threshold. that was a significant issue, republicans wanted to go to 500,000 and the white house was very, very strong and said they would not go to 500,000. >> did the vice president say there was anything from the house side that was negotiatable, anything they would be willing to let go of in order for the senate and house to come together? >> i'm not sure there was

anything that was -- that they would let go of. some of the issues that where they really couldn't find agreement or too complicated, such as what you do with the sequester, across the board spending cuts, were pushed down a couple of months. it sounded to me as if the vice president pretty much was able to negotiate everything that the democrats wanted. at the outset, he stressed very strongly that things like changing the way we calculate social security benefits, the so-called chained cpi off the table to begin with and he was very clear with senator mcconnell, apparently at outset if these things such as the chained cpi were part of the discussion that there was no reason wasting either of their time. so, i think they took care of those items right at the outset. >> did he say, did he encourage when you guys should vote on this? did he saget this thing done

today? >> he hadn't while i was in the meeting. i think the republicans are meeting, their conference is meeting right now. it looks like, from all we can tell, that they're going to not enforce the so-called hastert rule where they are to have a majority of majority to get to the floor. speaker boehner is willing to bring this to the floor. it's also my understanding, speaking to some of my colleagues who had spoken to republicans, it's twice removed some republicans in the senate left and told republican leadership don't send us anything but what we sent you. so it looks like there will be a vote, my guess, sometime later today, at worst tomorrow morning. but i think we're going to get this done. >> and finally, you said he did much of the talking, typical biden style doing a lot of the talking there. did he get an earful from some of your colleagues or yourself, people who might be frustrated the white house compromised a

little too much? >> he was still talking when i left. he had not opened the floor for questions. i'm sure there are a few members who are going to be upset. i know there are a number who felt that we gave far too much on the revenue side, that wanted to stick with that the original 250,000 threshold to increase taxes on the very wealthiest americans. but i think he made a compelling case as to why that was not possible and why this was essentially a very good deal which provides a lot of revenue toward deficit reduction. >> two questions here. are you willing to support the senate deal? do you feel that's a fair way going forward? do you think rest of your colleagues on the democratic side would do the same? >> i'm -- i strongly support it. i think it is a good deal. and nan many of the principles included are things i've been talking about for weeks now. i think the overwhelming majority of the caucus will support the plan but some have to swallow hard to do it, i think they'll still vote for it.

>> get back in that meeting. come out and fill us in again. let us know if there's any fireworks or anything else that comes out of it. is a deal or no deal? some american people not sounding happy with members of congress getting business done. >> i think it's sad that we pay politicians to protect our country and our interests and that they've ignored us. ♪

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the stoechl is closed today, new year's day but we don't know how wall street will react to the senate deal on a fiscal cliff. alison kosik at a new york city diner. still waiting for the house to come up with its own version. what do we make of what folks think about what's been put on the table here, at least preventing some middle class folks from their taxes going up? >> reporter: we certainly are having great conversations with a lot of pple at this particular diner. they're having breakfast. food looks great. we're having great conversations here at the tick tock diner. couldn't think of a more fitting place, tick tock diner, get it clock continues ticking on the fiscal cliff. it is a great pun? very fitting. a lot of people talking about

frustrations and what their thoughts are about how congress has handled this whole fiscal cliff situation. i want to talk with kelly about that. you have strong thoughts about how congress has handled this. what are your thoughts? >> i do. i think it's really hard and they keep doing this over and over again. last year the debt ceiling. this year it's the fiscal cliff. and it just seems like they can't get their act together year after year. it's frustrating to sit here and, you know, watch it happen over and over again. especially we're all students so it affects us a lot. it's really frustrating. >> julie, do you see yourself maybe changing your mind about who you necessary pily vote for the next election based on how members of congress handled the situation? >> actually no. i feel a lot of this has come from the partisanship which is creating the gridlock. i think the far right of the republican party's holding congress hostage to a point. mitch mcconnell says he wants to strike a deal. think about it, history states

they've been the party of no. he said from the beginning if obama wants it, why are we going to do it? at the end of the day congress can sit around but these directly affect us. as students, think about the division tax breaks, things will go away and affect my family. within i look at congress, i see it's shifted to one side. i don't know. i feel like they need to step up and make a compromise. with obama it's like a mandate, with the taxing the wealthiest americans, if he's elected which by a landslide, maybe they need to catch up and form and modernize the party. >> reporter: how much does the political posturing, how is that to watch this churn day after day for the past several days? >> it's rough. i was watching yesterday when the president spoke, hoping maybe they had come to some point. hearing him say we're close but not there yet, it's like these are things that directly affect

americans and if this is your job, this in is why we elect you, it's waiting each day, it's kind of like -- it's cliff, though cliff is a misleading term it is a good term. it's like jumping over, waiting for something to kind of hit us, that really shouldn't be there at all. >> reporter: thanks for your thoughts. one other person i talked with had one more thought saying it's a shame na the u.s. economy is being held hostage by the u.s. congress. something to think about as we continue our new year's day. >> it was fascinating to hear that young woman's point of view there. obviously students and paying close attention. do you get that sense for most people where you are they are following this and understand how this really affects them? >> reporter: i think they do. i also sort of took a mini poll about what -- this wasn't directly related with the fiscal cliff but the payroll tax holiday, going away. a lot of people i talked with, they were discussing with me where they're going to cut back

starting this year because the payroll tax holiday is going away. they're discussing what changes to make in their own budget. it's not just the fiscal cliff because many people are also sort of, you know, sort of looping in the payroll tax holiday to that as well. but as far as the fiscal cliff goes they don't know the minute details, they have a better understanding of the over all back and forth that's been going on. the majority of people are saying they're frustrated. they know congress is hard at work during the holidays and hard at work overnight they understand that. but at the same time lots of people tell me congress knew this deadline was coming and they did wait for the last minute. more many voters, they're frustrated. >> you're absolutely right. a lot of people who work hard all year round on the weekend, stay up late, they expect the representatives to do the same. thank you very much. deal or no deal, rolling doesn't

fiscal cliff. this is the gridlock in washington. this is your taxes. this is your family. this is your future. visit ireport.cnn.com. share your messages. we'll put it on the air. let us know what you think about all of this. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus severe cold and flu fights your worst flu symptoms, plus that cough. [ sighs ] thanks!... [ male announcer ] you're welcome.

deal or no deal. we asked you to weigh in on the fiscal cliff debate. here what happens some of you had to say. listen in in my new year's message to washington, this entire fiscal cliff problem isn't just an isolated incident. it's representative of how partisanship and polarization have taken over congress. i'm 18. i used to be excited for the future. but i don't want to live in a country that doesn't have a successful working legislator.

congress, it's time for you to remember what your purpose really is, get back to doing your job. >> resolution for washington is to get out of the middle east, learn to live on a budget like every other american does, and third thing is to reform the tax code. i think it's sickening to think politicians cannot get along, they're like cats and dogs. hope you guys have a good new year and hopefully we can get something done. >> all right. do you have a message? let us know your new year's resolution for washington. visit ireport.cnn.com. new year, new law. several states have new rules going into effect. take a look at a few of those. those are next. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve,

the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. so, the 5.3-liter v8 silverado can tow up to 9,600 pounds? 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. now through january 2nd, no monthly payments until spring for qualified buyers. get the silverado for 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance.

>> oh the places you'll go. that famous dr. seuss book the theme for the rose parade. hundreds, thousands lined the streets to see the spectacle, 43 floats, 23 marching bands, 21 equestrian units. the first float by the defense department and the first time a couple got married on a float. congratulations to them. all right. new year, bunch of new laws went into effect, 400 actually. we'll tell you about them. some are strange, others not so much. but let's start off with illinois middle school students

must learn how to use a defibrillator. it is illegal to possess or sell shark fins in the state. and it's a felony for sex offenders to dress up as santa claus or the easter bunny. also can't hand out candy at halloween. go to california. see what they've got on their books now employers there can't require employees or job applicants to disclose their social media passwords. illinois passes a similar measure, by the way. did we need a law for this one? law enforcement officers are not allowed to have sex with anyone in custody. that's a given. californians can no longer let their hunting dogs chase bobcats or bears. and finally, maryland, same-sex couples started tying the knot at midnight, that's when it became legal to get married. maryland voters approved same-sex marriage in november. chicken feed containing arsenic prohibited. in a move to protect kids from i

didn't theft everybody credit agencies must put a freeze on minor's credit reports if parents ask them to. interesting. convicted 40 years ago, convicts overturned. more than 30 years ago. now the wilmington ten are finally pardoned. >> governor purdue's historic action today doesn't remove the past 40 years of injustice against ten innocent american citizens.

civil rights activists convicted in a 1970s firebombing have been pardoned 40 years later by north carolina's governor. it includes benjamin chavis. tell us, first of all, remind us of the wilmington ten, what they were accused of. >> justice for the wilmington ten, but only six are still alive. go back to 1971, after the desegregation of schools in wilmington, north carolina. the black high school in that city was shut down, there were boycotts, protests, and ben chavis, a reverend -- still a reverend, called in to quell some violence. one night of rioting a white-owned supermarket was firebombed. chavis, eight other black males and a white female seeing on the screen now were convicted of

arson and conspiracy and sentenced to a combined 282 years. no one was killed in the fire but convicted. and a few years later, one of the witnesses recanted his story from the trial and said that he was coerced and bribed, others did the same. their convictions were overturned and they were released after about eight years. just yesterday, north carolina governor bev perdue pardoned them and gave them a pardon of innocence. here's part of what she said. convic c convictions represent an ugly stain on north carolina's justice system that cannot be allowed to stand any longer. again, four of the wilmington ten have since died before they saw that statement from north carolina's governor. >> why did it take so long? >> it happened because, after probably 25, 30 years some notes were found and pass the from the naacp, the state chapter of

north carolina, to an historian. he flipped through and saw the prosecutor who ran the jury selection had written notes next to jury numbers, one that said kkk, good. another uncle tom type and another one, so, she associates with negros and that happened just this summer. also with ben chavis handing over 130,000 signatures for a petition to have them pardoned as innocent but relatives of those who passed away one one of the wilmington ten say the past 40 years have been a nightmare. >> it has not been easy. when the fellows will go look for jobs they were turned down. ostracized. people talked about them. even our own family, the wholen community did not stand together. >> they're convinced in their own minds, heart, that somebody did it, you know?

i mean, we were chosen victims of crimes that we didn't commit. >> governor perdue's historic action today doesn't remove the past 40 years of injustice against ten innocent american citizens. >> and they've not found who actually firebombed that supermarket. >> victor, thank you very much. secretary of state hillary clinton being treated with blood thinners for a blood clot that doctors discovered behind her right ear. it is in a vein between her brain and her skull. doctors say it did not cause a stroke or any neurological damage. they expect clinton to make a full recovery. dr. sanjay gupta takes a look at what some concerns are. >> let me show you here by way of model. this is on the right side of the head but for the demonstration i'm going to show you left side of the head for the model.

you have the obrain. if the clot was pushing on the brain you wouldn't give blood thinning medication. in this case the blood clot located in one of the blood vessels inside the brain a blood vessel that drains blood away from the brain. it's called the sinus here. in her case it's actually in this area here, the transverse sinus, on right side of the brain. it's a rare condition. this is something that doesn't happen often but needs to be treated with blood thinning medications to try to make that clot dissolve. here's the concern. you have blood going to the brain. that blood also needs to leave the brain. if that blood is not leaving the brain, the pressure on the brain can start to build up and that's what you don't want to happen. >> clinton remains at a new york presbyterian hospital for now. for more on secretary of state clinton's health and reporting check out cnn.com/health. well, it was a year of wild, destructive weather with some of

the parts of the country still reeling this new year's day. we want to look ahead to what could be coming in 2013. a reall? i'm having one right now. i don't want to be disturbed. and i won't. because before i went to sleep, i set this. now my iphone knows not to ring, unless its important. 'cause disturbing this would just be .. wrong.

2012, bad year for weather disasters. and the united states alone disasters killed 349 people, caused billions of dollars in damage, and worldwide thousands were killed in flooding and severe cold weather. here is a look at back at the impact throughout the year.

>> well, people in the philippines dealing with some of the worst flooding they have seen in a lifetime. more than half of the capital manila underwater now. >> drenching monsoon rain triggered widespread flooding. desperate and difficult evacuations are now under way. >> the main concern right now in this area is getting these people to higher ground. as the floodwaters are rising and more rain is in the forecast. as you can see, this shantytown is completely submerged in water. you have people in boats trying to pick valuables out of this debris. that is just being swept through this fast-moving current of water. >> we have been measuring the rainfall across manila. no longer in centimeters, but in feet. another foot of rain fell in the manila area in the last 24 hours.

unfortunately there is more rain to come. >> floodwaters rise in southern russia, sweeping through houses as people swept, unaware and vulnerable. officials say one town actually got two months of rain in 24 hours. another town, five months' worth. and etar tass news agency says in one community, floodwaters rose seven meters, 23 feet overnight. >> the floodwaters have receded from the streets. but as they ha receded they have revealed a scene of absolute devastation. >> russian officials are calling it the worst disaster in the region in a decade. several districts have been declared emergency zones. >> and people wandering around in a state of shock. >> officials say at least 171 people were killed.

>> when we went to the town mortuary earlier on, there wasn't enough space in the mortuary for all the bodies and the local supermarkets have had to mend refrigerated trucks for help with the backlog of dealing with all of those bodies. >> state media reports more than 5,000 homes were overrun, disrupting the lives of 12,000 people. >> buildings have literally been smashed to pieces. a lot of wood and destruction here. they have been ripped to pieces. unfortunately a lot of them with people still inside. >> there is a lot of anger at the government from ordinary people. >> as the recovery operation gets under way, residents are demanding to know why they were not given adequate warning. >> a mandatory evacuation order in effect. >> the fact that some decided to

disregard my instruction, my order, and i'm concerned that it might lead to the loss of life. >> it is on the way to landfall, probably just a few hours from now. >> the wind field is bigger than a category 1. the surge will be bigger that be a category 1. >> this should all be sandy coastline now. but now it is a foamy, brown mess of atlantic angry ocean, thanks to hurricane sandy. >> we did begin an orderly shutdown of the subway system at 9:00. >> there is a ship presently out at the mercy of the ocean, a ship with 17 people on board. >> sandy is forcing both campaigns and some boaters to make some changes. >> anything they need, we will be there. and we're going to cut through red tape. >> we are seeing a large number of fires caused by downed wires and electrical problems relating to outages. >> flooding on fdr drive on the east side. on the lower east side of manhattan we have seen flooding in a must be number of subway s

as well, water pouring down. >> make no mistake about it, this was a devastating storm, maybe the worst we have ever experienced. >> hurricane sandy's impact on the united states has been devastating and heart breaking. and the response has been heroic and inspiring. >> so why was 2012 such a bad year for weather disasters? what can we expect in the new year? chad myers joins us to talk about this and we saw really quite impactful that hurricane sandy and a lot of talk about the possibility of these super storms in the future, more of them. do we suspect that is something we're going to see this year? >> maybe not this year, but certainly in the coming decades we will see the strength of storms be more impacting of people along the coast and where people live. we're putting more people in harm's way now. let's say hurricane sandy hit in 1900. certainly would have done a lot

of damage. but wouldn't have affected really the tens of millions of people. wouldn't have done the hundreds probably by the time it is done worth of billions worth of dollars worth of damage because there wasn't that much property. not that many people there. but now that we all want to live along the coast, we all want to live in beautiful places and many times beautiful places are the places that are in the most danger. we're going to see in 2013 the persistence of the big drought. the drought is still out here in the midwest. it is not going anywhere. for the next three months, forecasters are saying there is not going to be that much rain. that's not atypical of what a drought is. once the ground is dry, suzanne, there is no evaporation there. no more humidity in the air above that ground because it is just parched land. so there is no humidity to make clouds, no clouds, no rain. so that is just that snowballing effect that we see here. will there be bigger storms in the future compared to the ones we saw 100 years ago? yes, probab